A £300,000 scheme is planned to help Liverpool's schools learn to cope with refugees and asylum seekers.

The cash will fund pilot training schemes for teachers and pay for school textbooks to be translated into other languages.

It is part of the govern-ment's Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, which will see around £24m spent on a wave of initiatives to improve some of the city's poorest communities.

There are around 60 refugee families in Liverpool but that number is expected to double during 2004 when more families are dispersed around Britain from the South East.

The pilot scheme aims to co-ordinate work towards intergrating the refugees and their families into the Liverpool community.

If it is successful, it will be used as a model for communities across Western Europe.

Executive member for community safety, Cllr Flo Clucas, said: "Most of the families involved in this scheme will have already been given permission to stay in the UK and it is essential the children are given access to English classes to help them them and their families adjust as quickly as possibly.

"Liverpool has a fine tradition of welcoming refugees in recent years from the Balkans, Somalia and Afghanistan, the city has already proven itself to be warm and welcome for those who have witnessed the most terrible atrocities,

"Although £300,000 sounds a lot of money, it will give intensive support to a relatively small number of families. We hope the pilot will be success and that will become mainstream."

As part of Capital of Culture celebrations, the city is already running the World in One School programme which sees youngsters learning about other cultures which have influenced Liverpool's history.

The new project will also see adults given schooling and refugee support groups will work with teachers on how to tailor lessons for young children who have often travelled thousands of miles in appalling conditions.

A spokeswoman for the Liverpool-based Asylum Seeker and Refugee Partnership, said: "It is vital the refugee support groups work with education departments to ensure children from other countries get the best possible schooling."